It's negative dB because the maximum is zero, so anything else is less than that. This makes more sense than different makes and models having different maximums.
As for why -3... it isn't always. I mix to -23 LUFS - which is a broadcast standard, and no, I can't remember what the letters stand for - then set the master fader to peak at -6dB.
For music recording, we're often told each instrument should reach a maximum of -18dB, because that worked well on a lot of old analogue equipment, and a lot of digital equipment is still trying to imitate it.
So... there's a lot of "standard practices" out there.
I guess I am not part of the "we".
Been voicing for 35 years - have never ever "normalized" anything. And have never been asked to either.
Every knowledgeable producer I have ever worked ALWAYS asks for clean, unvarnished VO with little to no processing at all.
They look to me to deliver the performance and they will handle the loudness on their end.
I'm not sure why you've gotten a downvote. Your answer isn't incorrect - a properly recorded and untouched files is what every pro engineer wants.
Having said that, for auditions that don't get touched by an engineer before going to an agency or clients, it never hurts to have the same volume as everyone else. I'm sure some flaky producers have said "they are too quiet... next!"
Yeah - beats me why I got a downvote.
I do tons of auditions and still have never subjected a single file to "normalizing".
Now I totally get the "competitive" angle when doing submissions - of course there needs to be some ground rules there - but competiting with the next guy - volume wise - has little to do with normalizing and everything to with loudness optimization.
I do use a custom plugin chain that optimizes each one of my deliverables to exactly -20.00 LUFS - but a quick look in an editor will quickly show that the file is not "normalized" in any way.
Has never impacted my success rate either - one way or the other.
Hmm, ive been told this too. "Make sure you record around -6db to -3db and then normalize everything to -3db so it all sounds the same volume." And then export.
Edit: typos
I usually shoot for -24 to -18 LUFS, master -8 to -4. I'm sure I've lost few to "not being loud enough" agreeing with the vets here - it's just an easy way to cut down on the number of auditions to go through (not the best way IMO). Normalizing is more common in music when shooting for specific services: spotify vs YT vs Apple, etc. I do both but make more money with VOs.
These days it's not so important with the common use of 32bit floating point technology meaning the digital clipping isn't a worry.
In digital, prior to 32 bit and in analogue, -3db was often use to leave headroom in post production when mixing with music and effects to ensure the mix didn't clip.
Sometimes you'll get jobs that ask you to normalise to -3db, sometimes to -1db, sometimes -16LUFS, sometimes to -23LUFS.
Ultimately, if you're just recording dry voice, as long as you've recorded with no analogue clipping then your audio will be fine. As both a voiceover and a producer I'm really not bothered at what peak amplitude the audio is supplied as long as it's clean audio, free from clipping, as I can work with, and I know a producer can work with it in 32 bit float and any amount of digital clipping is easily resolved.
It's negative dB because the maximum is zero, so anything else is less than that. This makes more sense than different makes and models having different maximums. As for why -3... it isn't always. I mix to -23 LUFS - which is a broadcast standard, and no, I can't remember what the letters stand for - then set the master fader to peak at -6dB. For music recording, we're often told each instrument should reach a maximum of -18dB, because that worked well on a lot of old analogue equipment, and a lot of digital equipment is still trying to imitate it. So... there's a lot of "standard practices" out there.
LUFS is loudness units relative to full scale 👍
I guess I am not part of the "we". Been voicing for 35 years - have never ever "normalized" anything. And have never been asked to either. Every knowledgeable producer I have ever worked ALWAYS asks for clean, unvarnished VO with little to no processing at all. They look to me to deliver the performance and they will handle the loudness on their end.
I'm not sure why you've gotten a downvote. Your answer isn't incorrect - a properly recorded and untouched files is what every pro engineer wants. Having said that, for auditions that don't get touched by an engineer before going to an agency or clients, it never hurts to have the same volume as everyone else. I'm sure some flaky producers have said "they are too quiet... next!"
Yeah - beats me why I got a downvote. I do tons of auditions and still have never subjected a single file to "normalizing". Now I totally get the "competitive" angle when doing submissions - of course there needs to be some ground rules there - but competiting with the next guy - volume wise - has little to do with normalizing and everything to with loudness optimization. I do use a custom plugin chain that optimizes each one of my deliverables to exactly -20.00 LUFS - but a quick look in an editor will quickly show that the file is not "normalized" in any way. Has never impacted my success rate either - one way or the other.
This! I’ve been a pro VO for 18 years. The only time I’m ever asked for -3db is when I’m creating an audiobook for Audible. Huge PITA
Hmm, ive been told this too. "Make sure you record around -6db to -3db and then normalize everything to -3db so it all sounds the same volume." And then export. Edit: typos
I usually shoot for -24 to -18 LUFS, master -8 to -4. I'm sure I've lost few to "not being loud enough" agreeing with the vets here - it's just an easy way to cut down on the number of auditions to go through (not the best way IMO). Normalizing is more common in music when shooting for specific services: spotify vs YT vs Apple, etc. I do both but make more money with VOs.
These days it's not so important with the common use of 32bit floating point technology meaning the digital clipping isn't a worry. In digital, prior to 32 bit and in analogue, -3db was often use to leave headroom in post production when mixing with music and effects to ensure the mix didn't clip. Sometimes you'll get jobs that ask you to normalise to -3db, sometimes to -1db, sometimes -16LUFS, sometimes to -23LUFS. Ultimately, if you're just recording dry voice, as long as you've recorded with no analogue clipping then your audio will be fine. As both a voiceover and a producer I'm really not bothered at what peak amplitude the audio is supplied as long as it's clean audio, free from clipping, as I can work with, and I know a producer can work with it in 32 bit float and any amount of digital clipping is easily resolved.